Two More Buk Systems Destroyed by U.S. Forces Found in Venezuela

In Venezuela, two additional components of Russian-made Buk-M2E surface-to-air missile systems that were destroyed by U.S. forces have been discovered.

The TalCual newspaper published photographs of the equipment.

The air defense vehicles were found at their positions near Carmen de Uría in Vargas State.

The images show either two destroyed launchers, or a launcher and a transporter-loader vehicle of the Buk-M2E system.

They were hit during a U.S. strike on January 3 as part of an operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

Earlier reports stated that three Buk-M2E vehicles had been destroyed and five more had been damaged.

In particular, a photo has been released showing a destroyed 9A316E launcher taken at the port of the city of La Guaira in Vargas State. A similar launcher was also hit in Caracas.

Another confirmed loss from the air defense system was a 9S510E command center, which was destroyed at Higuerote Air Base.

Following the successful U.S. operation, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth publicly mocked the Russian air defense systems deployed in Venezuela. According to U.S. government officials, Venezuela’s Russian-made air defense systems were not connected to radar stations during the American raid on Caracas.

This applies in particular to the Buk-M2E air defense systems, which were not deployed to combat positions even during the peak of U.S.–Venezuelan tensions and instead remained at their bases.

Former head of the CIA station in Venezuela Richard de la Torre noted that the key reasons for the Venezuelan air defense system’s lack of combat readiness were years of corruption, logistical problems, and the impact of international sanctions.

Meanwhile, according to officials, part of the responsibility also lies with Russia. Russian instructors and technical specialists were supposed to ensure the full operational capability of the delivered systems and maintain them in proper technical condition.